


A Stange thing in Common

by boredomsMuse



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluffy, Galra Keith (Voltron), Kinda, M/M, Selkie - Freeform, Selkies, also angst, galra - Freeform, selkie lance, someone posted a thing where lance was a selkie and i needed more so i wrote more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 10:05:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8245238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredomsMuse/pseuds/boredomsMuse
Summary: Keith's Half-Galra, the most of the team doesn't take it well including Keith.  He feels he's lost a part of himself when he doesn't see the human him and he's sure that no one understands how he feels.Lance left something on Earth, something he can't recreate or ignore, and he's sure he knows exactly what Keith feels like right now.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [An Ocean of Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7950697) by [AriWrote](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriWrote/pseuds/AriWrote). 



> If you don't think that 9 out of 10 times Lance and Keith have very loud important conversations i think you're wrong but whatever
> 
> It's not my best work but I hope you guys like it  
> completely unbetaed as per usual so let me know if there are any major screw ups.

It stands to reason that when you find yourself saving your hero from the government, finding and piloting a magical high-science lion, flying to the each of the solar system, and traveling through a worm hole to basically the other side of the universe, that you won’t really be able to bring anything with you.  As much as none of that stands to reason.

 

Lance had lost something important to him and without it he felt like he’d left his right arm on Earth, with no intended offense to Shiro.

 

“You sure you’re not going to join us buddy?”  Hunk asked as the blue pilot rested against one of the castles windows, looking out on the glistening water of the first world they’d found that had swimmable lakes. 

 

“Nah hunk, you go have fun.”  Lance shrugged, not turning to his friend.  He couldn’t force himself to smile right now.  In the window’s reflection he saw the yellow pilot nod.

 

“Let me know if you change your mind.”  He said, leaving the other when Lance gave him a slight nod.  Hunk joined most of the rest of the team at the castles entrance, each in some form of swimwear.

 

“Lance isn’t coming?”  Pidge asked.  “Wow, I would have thought he was the first out the door.  He used to spend all his free time in the garrisons pools.” 

 

“He’s just not feeling up to it.  Lakes aren’t the same as the ocean, you know?”  Hunk shrugged.

 

“That’s a shame.  I was really hoping this trip could help the tension of Team Voltron.”  Coran frowned.  “I fear it’s just making things worse.”  He said.  No one commented on that.  Shiro lead the group of five out of the castle, Pidge and Allura on his tail and followed closely by Coran.  Hunk stared back in the direction of the window ledge that Lance had claimed before the engineer turned pilot sighed and followed after them.

 

* * *

  


Lance wasn’t sure how long he sat there in silence, watching the water longingly but not quite able to go to it the way he desired.  His silence was broken by footsteps that stopped abruptly when they neared him.

 

“Geez Keith, you look like you’ve seen a ghost of something.  Really you’re not the one who should be shocked.”  Lance mocked, not looking away from his window.  His words didn’t hold the same air they usually did as he baited his rival.

 

“I thought you would have thought you were the first one off the ship.”  Keith didn’t take the bait and the fact that Lance didn’t care probably showed how terrible they both felt in that moment.

 

“Well, you thought wrong.”  Lance rolled his eyes.  “Even with the heightened senses you’re still not perfect pretty boy.”

 

“Would you stop saying stuff like that?”  Keith glared at him.  “This isn’t funny.”  Out of the corner of his eye Lance saw Keith gesture to himself.  The whole ‘my dad’s Galra’ came as shock to everyone, maybe to Keith especially.  Pidge had had trouble accepting that, the small genius sure Keith _had_ to have known.  Allura had looked at Keith like he was the enemy they were fighting.  Coran had refused to look at him.  Shiro had been the worst though.  He’d attacked Keith, hadn’t believed Keith when the red pilot tried to claim it was him.  Shiro had been so sure that the Galra was a danger to them that Hunk and Lance had had to pull him away from the terrified pilot.

 

Lance had seen Keith’s face, purple coloured and large ears, and his heart had broken.  The boy had raced to his room and no one had seen head or literal tail of him since. 

 

That was a week and a half ago.  Since then Shiro had calmed down and released he’d acted his friend.  Everyone else had realized their errors too and calmed down.  Still, no one was sure how to approach him.  Shiro and Allura, the team’s go tos, were too guilty to face him and Coran wasn’t sure he was the best to handle this situation.  The team had tried to vote that Hunk and Lance do it since they were the only ones that hadn’t reacted badly at all, they’d accepted it easily.  Lance didn’t think it was his place, he told the team Keith and he weren’t close enough but there was another reason only Hunk knew.  The yellow pilot had said he couldn’t because he had no idea what to say; besides he thought Shiro should be the one to do it.

 

Still, Hunk was the only one way talking steps.  Lance was sure the only reason Keith knew that no one else was there was because Hunk had invited him along.

 

“Why?  It’s not like I care that you’re an alien.”  Lance huffed.

 

“I’m sure you’re just loving this.”  Keith spat.  “You’ve always seen us as rivals and now you’ve finally got prove that you’re better than me.  I’m sure you’re _thrilled_ by this.” 

 

“Are you kidding me?!”  Lance snapped, finally turning to face Keith.  He didn’t want to think of the fact he looked like he’d been crying.  “Keith, I don’t think this makes me better than you, I’m just accepting it!  It’s not like you got a fucking choice in being a Galra.  Maybe you should get out of your dark corner and get over this because the rest of us have and now you’re just letting your stupid self-pity get in the way of Voltron.”

 

“What do you know Lance?!  You have no idea what it’s like!  I’m not human, I don’t even have my own god damn skin anymore and you were looking at me like I was some monster because I wasn’t 100% human anymore.  You have no idea how it feels to look in the mirror and not see yourself looking back, how it feels to just feel wrong in your skin.  You don’t understand so don’t act like it’s as easy as changing clothes!”  Keith all but screamed back and Lance wasn’t sure if the others could hear them or not but he just didn’t care right now.

 

“You don’t fucking know everything Keith!”  He screamed, louder than Keith had because he felt the need to be louder than this stupid boy moping because he didn’t feel whole without human skin.  “You didn’t even remember me when we saved Shiro so don’t pretend that the person you’re meant to be forming Voltron with is the only possible Lance.”  He snapped.

 

“I don’t want to hear your bullshit about me not knowing you.”  Keith shouted.  “I know enough.  I know you’re human and I know there’s no way you’ve been through what I’m going through.”

 

“Oh what?  Like how we knew you were human two weeks ago?  Huh?”  Lance mocked.  “Go ahead, ‘know’ that I haven’t been through the same shit.  I don’t fucking care.”  Lance got off the ledge and headed to the lions, trying his hardest not to cry.  He lasted until he was inside Blue’s cockpit.  He could hear her, a constant presence and it was so, so _close_ to what he wanted and needed, but it wasn’t quite it.  They were two so tightly connected that they were practically One.  But he was inside her skin right now, not his own.

 

“It’s not fair Blue.”  He muttered after crying for longer than he would ever admit.  “I can’t even tell them.  I just want to go back home Blue.  Joining the Garrison was a mistake, joining Voltron was a mistake.”  He head her rumbling, head her voice in his mind even if she didn’t quite say words.  “No, meeting you wasn’t a mistake.  I’m glad I met you.”  He sighed, resting back in his chair.  “I’m glad I met you and Hunk.”

 

* * *

 

Keith was safely tucked away in his room by the time the others returned from their fun.  He was trying his hardest not to think about the fight he and Lance had while they were gone but he was trying in vain.  It was on the forefront of his mind.  He’d seen Lance act like _that_.  The other teenager had sounded so anger and hurt.  He’d sounded like he really was telling the truth, like he really did know where all of Keith’s fears and correct self-hatred was coming from.  But Keith didn’t understand how that could be so. 

 

He was almost relieved when a knock at the door shook him from his confusion.  He was definitely relieved when he heard Hunk’s voice.

 

“Hey Keith, can you open up?”  Hunk asked.  Despite being relieved Keith decided to ignore him, he didn’t want to have any more conversations right now.

 

“Oh hey it’s unlocked.”  The sentence followed the sound of his door open and Keith bolted up in bed, turning wide-eyed to a relaxed Hunk that walked in, the door shutting behind him.

 

“I swear I locked it.”  Keith said, though he wasn’t really sure if he had.

 

“Have you seen Lance?”  Hunk asked, not dwelling on the topic.  “I can’t find him anywhere.”

 

“Why would I know where he is?”  Keith frowned.  If his relief hadn’t been gone when the door opened it was definitely gone now.

 

“I don’t know.  You guys were the only ones in here while we were gone.  You really should have gone by the way, it was fun.”  Hunk shrugged, joining Keith on his bed despite the Halflings discomfort.

 

“No one wanted me there.”  Keith mumbled, looking again and the ears he hated flattening against his head.

 

“Nop, not true.  I wanted you there.”  Hunk said calmly.  “So did Lance, or he would’ve you know if he’d gone swimming with us but he didn’t so maybe he wasn’t the best second example.”  He said thoughtfully.

 

“I really don’t think Lance wants me around.”  Keith sighed.  “We had a fight.”

 

“You guys are always fighting though.”  Hunk raised an eyebrow.

 

“No, like an actual fight.  I don’t want to talk about it.”  Keith mumbled.

 

“Oh… okay.  Well, I guess I should go find him.”  Keith didn’t reply as Hunk got up and headed to the door.  “I’m cooking tonight, by the way, you should join.”  He added.  Keith just shrugged.  “And uh, it’s not really my secret to tell or anything but… well, you’re not the only non-human, and I don’t mean Allura and Coran.  You’re just… there’s other people that are scared of what everyone’ll think if they know the truth.  So, anyway, you should come to dinner.”  Hunk left quickly and Keith just frowned at the door, confused.

 

He forgot to lock it.

  


* * *

  

Keith didn’t go to dinner.  He was hungry, only daring to head to eat when he knew no one would be around and considering Shiro’s training times that wasn’t often, but Keith didn’t want to face everyone.  He was sure when he did they’d kick him out of Voltron.  He wasn’t sure where they’d send him, but he doubted it’d be Earth.

 

There was another knock at the door, he assumed a little after dinner.  Keith sighed, lying on his bed turned into the wall.

 

“I’m sorry for missing dinner Hunk, I just wasn’t hungry.”  He decided it was only far not to ignore the singular paladin that visited him, at least not this time.

 

“So Hunk did come to see you.”  Keith tensed up completely at the black paladin’s voice.  Everything was silent for a long moment.  “Can I come in?”  Keith didn’t answer, he wasn’t sure _how_ to answer.  Shiro wanted another minute before continuing.  “Keith, I’m so sorry.”  He started and Keith had been expecting that less than Shiro’s actual visit. “Your part of my team, and one of my closet friends, I should have thought before I acted.  That’s not your fault, it’s not the fault of how you look, it’s completely my fault alone.  So I came to apologize.  Because I should never have do that to you, much less waited a week and a half to apologize.  So uh, sorry about that too.”  Keith still wasn’t sure how to respond.  He sat up on his bed and swallowed.

 

“It’s unlocked.”  He eventually managed to say, staring down at the floor as Shiro opened the door.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Then he felt the bed dip next to him.

 

“Hunk made you a bowl.  It’s actual food.  We caught alien fish while we were out today and Pidge found some vegetation that tastes a lot like carrots and potatoes.”  He offered the bowl to Keith who hesitated before taking the bowl.  He took a deep breath and started to eat. 

 

“It’s a lot better than slime.”  He commented.  Shiro let out a light chuckle.

 

“Pidge said the same thing.  Coran wasn’t too happy about it.”  He told Keith.  “Although he begrudgingly agreed it was good.  Allura seemed to like it too.”  Keith hesitated.  He shouldn’t ask.

 

“What about Lance?”  He did ask.

 

“He didn’t show up.”  Shiro said.  “Hunk took him a bowl of food afterwards.  He says you two had an actual fight.”  Keith sighed and nodded.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“I just… He was joking about the Galra thing and I thought he was mocking me.  He told me I should get over it and I got mad because there’s no way he knows how I feel.  He got mad at me for that.  I don’t know what happened we were just screaming at each other about if he knows how I feel.”  He told his man he trusted most, even after everything.  Shiro took a moment to absorb the information.

 

“How _do_ you feel?”  He asked.  Keith wasn’t quick to answer and they sat in a silence that Shiro didn’t break this time.

 

“I feel like... like I lost a part of myself.  I feel like I’m not ‘Keith’ anymore.  Every time I look in the mirror I feel like I’m missing something.”  He admitted.

 

“Maybe he does know how you feel then.”  Shiro said.  “I can’t really answer that, you’d have to ask him about it.”  They sat in silence again for a moment.  “For the record, I don’t think you’re not ‘Keith’, I still think you’re the best possible red pilot we could have on team Voltron.”  He added.  Keith took a deep breath, smiling a little.

 

“Thanks Shiro.”  He said.  “And, for the record, I don’t blame you for anything.”  He added.  Shiro hesitated a second before wrapping an arm around Keith in half a hug.

  


* * *

  

Keith slowly started coming out of his room.  He started to eat with them at meals again, although he mostly stuck to training by himself the first few days.  He had a moment with everyone as they apologized, in their own ways, and accepted him.  He thanked Hunk for the food, and silently thanked him for sending Shiro to his room.  From the smile and the ‘no problem buddy’ he thinks the other understood.

 

The only person he didn’t have a moment with was Lance.  Lance, it seemed, had taken his place in being the social recluse.  He still spoke with the others but mostly privately.  He avoided Keith like the plague.

 

He also didn’t step foot outside the castle.

 

Not until the last night they played on staying at the water planet.  After he was sure everyone else had gone to sleep he slipped out of the castle and towards a lake that wasn’t so far he’d get lost but wasn’t so close he’d be seen.  When he reached it he dived in, dressed completely in his armour.

 

He surfaced and he couldn’t help in.  He screamed in frustration. 

 

“Uh… Lance?”  The named boy froze and turned to find Keith watching him from the shoreline.  “Why are you swimming in your armour?” 

 

“Why do you care?”  Lance snapped, huffing and crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“Look I’ve thought a lot about our fight okay, and about what Hunk told me and well, I’m sorry.  About what I said and what I presumed about you.”  Lance didn’t hear much after the words ‘hunk told me’.

 

“What did… what did Hunk tell you?”  Lance asked, smiling slightly further from the shore.

 

“He told me about you, not directly.”  Keith looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“He… but I… I trusted him with that!  How could he tell you?!”  Lance snapped, panicking.

 

“Lance, it’s okay.  I promise I won’t tell the others.”  Keith assured him.  Lance bit his lip, looking at the water that wasn’t quite like Earths.

 

“Mum says our coats are like a piece of us.”  He mumbled.

 

“What?”  Keith frowned.

 

“Mum said our coats are like a piece of us, a reflection of our souls.”  Lance said, a little bit louder.  “My coats on Earth but I… Blue is like a piece of me, flying with her feels so close to what swimming in my coat is like, so, so close.  I thought maybe my armour might be like a second coat then.  Thinking about it now it’s dumb because how could hard, cold armour ever replace my fur but I just… I miss it so much.”  He mumbled.

 

“What?!”  Keith frowned moments after Lance had finished  “Just _what_ are you?!”

 

“I thought Hunk already told you!”  Lance shouted back.

 

“Yeah, that you weren’t human!  He didn’t tell me anything about coats, why does a coat matter?”  Keith exclaimed back.

 

“Oh my god, I’m a Selkie Keith!  Our coats are literally how we change our shape!”  Lance groaned.  “I thought Hunk told you that!  Geez, I never would have said that stuff if I knew you only knew I wasn’t human!”

 

“What the hell is a Selkie?!  Allura’s never mentioned them!”  Keith shouted.

 

“I’m not an alien!  Jesus!  I’m a magical being!  Selkie’s are seals that can transform into humans, how do you not know that?!” 

 

“Sorry I don’t know Spanish mythology!”  Keith snapped.

 

“Spanish myth- Por el bien folla!  One, I’m Cuban, two, Selkie’s are Irish, Scottish, and Faroese!”  Lance shouted through his hands.

 

“If you’re Cuban then why are you some mythical creature from Ireland, Scotland or whatever the hell the other one was?!”  Keith shouted back.

 

“Because just because my ancestors came from Scotland doesn’t mean I have to be Scottish.  My last name’s McClain you moron!”  Lance explained, loudly of course.

 

“So to recap, you’re a Selkie, a Scottish shapeshifter, who needs a coat to shapeshift?”  Keith asked for clarification, having trouble getting his mind around it.

 

“Kinda!  I mean we’re not shapeshifters, we’re Selkies, but kinda!”  Lance shouted back.  It’s at this point he expected Keith to laugh, to tell him he was crazy.  He couldn’t prove it, he didn’t have his coat with him.

 

“Okay.”  Keith said calmly.

 

“Huh?”  Lance frowned, moving his hands from his face.

 

“I said okay.  I don’t really get it all but, I believe you.”  Keith said.  “And that means you literally left a part of you on Earth, right?  This coat thing of yours.”  Lance sighed softly.

 

“Yeah… it should be safe, it’s with my parents not at the Garrison but… I don’t know.  Someone could steal it, or burn it, or there could be a disaster, it could get lost.  So much could happen Keith and I could lose that part of me.”  Lance mumbled.  “My coat means the world to me.”  They were silent for a while.  Lance simply floating on the spot, staring at the water. 

 

“Take off you suit already, that can’t be comfortable.”  Keith eventually said, taking off his shirt.  Lance hesitated before heading to the shore.  Once on shore he pulled the armour off, leaving him in a shirt and boxers.  He took the shirt off and turned to find Keith in the water.  The other gestured for the blue pilot to join him. Lance did.  Even without the feeling of his coat becoming his skin this was okay, the water was still his home.

 

 

“I get what you meant now.”  Keith said softly as they swam, or floated really.  They were close together, Keith having admitted he wasn’t a strong swimmer and would rather be close to the literal water creature.  “And I’m sorry for claiming you didn’t know how I felt.”

 

“It’s okay.”  Lance breathed.  “It’s different.  I’ve known for ages that I’m not human and you only found out then.  Plus I can get my coat back, we don’t know if you’ll ever look human again.”

 

“Coran says I might be half Altean.”  Keith told him.  “Since I looked human so long he thinks it’d make sense that I had their shifting ability.  And where better for an Altean to hide then a planet that would take Zarkon more than 10000 years to conquer?”  Lance nodded slightly.  “And he says that around our age is when Altean child start to go through alien puberty, apparently shifters harder because they’re energies being spent doing alien puberty stuff.”

 

“I doubt that’s how he said it.”  Lance chuckled. 

 

“Well, no, but almost.”  Keith shrugged.

 

“Even if you’re not Altean, we’ll find a way to get back in the skin you prefer.”  Lance promised.

 

“You too Lance.”  Keith smiled.

 

“I don’t prefer my other body I just… like being able to change between them.  I am actually half human.”  Lance hummed.  “It’s why I’m on land in the first place.  My Dad’s a Selkie, but my mum’s human.  Not all my siblings are Selkies either.  Actually I have a twin sister who’s completely human.”  Lance hummed.

 

“Geez, I’ve signed myself up for Lance’s family talks haven’t I?”  Keith groaned.

 

“Hey, shut it.”  Lance said, playfully shoving Keith.  “Hunk’s the only other person who knows so it’s like I can really talk about this with anyone else.” 

 

“Are you going to tell the others?”  Lance sighed at the questioned he should have assumed was coming.

 

“No.”  He answered.  “They wouldn’t believe me.  I mean, you saw how they reacted to you and that was something they could see.  They’d think I’m crazy.”  Lance mumbled.

 

“Lance, they wouldn’t think you were crazy.  Me being half Galra and you being half Silkie are completely different.” 

 

“Yeah, ones a proven race, the other not so much.”  Lance sighed, started to swim around the lake.  Keith sighed but let it go.  They feel into a soft pattern as Lance swam and Keith floated closer to the shallows.

 

“We’re going to beat Zarkon Lance. We’ll beat him and I’ll make sure you get your coat back, even if I have to hunt it down from the moment we get home.”  Keith promised.  Lance stopped his laps, smiling a little.

 

“Thanks Keith.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm working on a much longer AU idea where Lance is a Selkie who gets his coat stolen but I want to update maybe actually freaking finish some of my other WIPs first
> 
> Let me know if you want more of this story tho


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